Tag: Digital ID

The City of Zug has announced plans to launch a new Ethereum-based identity service in September 2017.

The Swiss city will offer digital identity services through a new app, connecting a person’s ID with a particular crypto-address. Thus, local citizens can register and are verified by city officials. On the technology side, the app will leverage the uPort identity platform created by Ethereum development community ConsenSys. Also involved on the development front is the Swiss startup ti&m and the Lucerne University of Economics.

Zug plans to hold a consultative vote on electronic ballot access, expected to take place in 2018. According to CoinDesk, the city has become a major hub for digital currency and blockchain startups, buoyed by a proactive government that has sought to attract more startups to Switzerland.

HSBC and Barclays have joined several private and public sector organisations to test the use of digital ID in cross-border banking.

The group, which includes HSBC, Barclays, the UK Government Digital Service (GDS), Orange, OT-Morpho and the Open Identity Exchange (OIX UK), has launched the project by testing the opening of a bank account in the UK using a citizen’s digital identity from France. Additional funding for the project comes from European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility, a funding instrument to support the development of interconnected trans-European networks in the fields of transport, energy and digital services.

According to HSBC, the biggest effect that this project could have is to eliminate the need for a separate set of identification paperwork when opening a bank account in another country. A digital ID allows banks to share data and verify the client’s identity regardless of nationality.

The group will also use the mobile connect authentication process allowing the user to request a digital ID that is validated via eIDAS. These services will be developed and provided by Orange.